Solar Cooking Using Telescope Principle?

by brettze@aol.com
(Antioch CA)

I wonder why I don't see anybody use the same principles of reflector type telescopes for cooking. Just a wide tube with mirror at bottom and the eyepiece can be used as a cooking point. You can use tracking mechanism already developed for telescope use. Only that the mirror need not be so precisely polished for telescope purposes. So you can order mirror manufacturers to downgrade mirrors to cooking purposes above 99% efficiency instead of 99.9999% required for telescope uses. I am sure that they can make them for a fraction of the normal telescope variety. Also, they can start mass producing tracking mechanisms to lower prices. Those tracking mechanisms are outlandish in pricing like $300 or more. I cannot find anything for $50 which is doable. I don't want to make everything from scratch. I'd rather buy them ready made for my custom uses.

_____________________________________________

Greetings,

Thank you for the interesting and thought provoking question and commentary.

I will have to admit that I do not have a great answer for your question.

I am not familiar with the technology or the concepts and theory behind your question.

From what I could understand though, it sounds like it could be doable or feasible, but I am no expert as I mentioned.

I can sure help with the traditional solar cooking methods though.

I would suggest you visit a solar cooking community site/forum that we are connected with and highly recommend;comprised of many different levels of solar cooks, some of whom are quite intelligent and who have done much by way of experimentation in the solar cooking field. It's free to join and you could find the help and the conversation quite "enlightening"